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Saturday, 30 March 2013

So today I have mainly caught up on housework which has been neglected for a couple of days & the ironing pile was growing into a mountain so it needed to be tackled! I also did some baking, caught up on a few TV series & had a good old general Saturday.

I was sitting here in the lounge mooching around blog land on my laptop and thought I'd share a few cards that you might not have seen using BRIGHT Butterflies...

Deanna Dean created this first card which was featured on Seize the Birthday challenge blog last week. It's Uniko Studio's last week of sponsoring the challenge blog for the month of March. You've 2 days left to enter the current challenge HERE.

Deanna has combined BRIGHT Butterflies clear stamp set with one of the papers from Super FREE Saturday BRIGHT Butterflies. I love the simplicity of this card, it works well with the BRIGHT butterfly & sentiment placement.

This next card by Lynn Hayes was also featured on Seize the Birthday challenge blog last week. Such a soft & pretty card.

Below is one more card created by Jen Nelson, also for Seize the Birthday challenge blog last week...

Jen has used Eclectic Mix Spring along with the BRIGHT Butterflies. I really like the stitched sentiment panel.

All these girls did a fabulous job showcasing the set & fussy cutting all those butterflies out! That will soon be a chore no more when the NEW Designer Dies BRIGHT Butterflies are released on April 11th!

Countdown & Sneak Peeks to the Release are not too far away, so be sure to keep popping by the blog, it's a release NOT to be missed!

As all the housework is done for the weekend I shall be spending some time in the studio tomorrow & will have some crafty time to create some projects to share with you all here on the blog. I hope your all having a lovely Easter weekend.

Friday, 29 March 2013

I hope everyone's Easter holiday has got off to a GOOD start. Mine has which started with a lazy lay in bed, then we crossed off one job on the 'get stuff done' list which was to alter the desks in the studio and after a little more organising I made this card...

I started out with the current ColorQ challenge colours seen HERE and below. I then looked at my Uniko Studio stamps and decided to use a chevron from Wonderful Washi Christmas & Pair it with Label Love: Birthday.

Usually I go for straight lines horizontally or vertically & rarely digress, but I decided to add some sloping angles to my chevrons and also my focal point. I'm pleased I stepped out of my comfort zone as I really like the result!

Tomorrow is another day of relaxation & a spot of studio Spring Organising! I will before this Easter holiday is over share a little photo tour of the studio, so you all get to peek at where I spend most of my days!

Wednesday, 27 March 2013

Yet another lovely & inspiring day spent with like minded creatives today at the CCAD (Cleveland College of Art & Design) Alumni event. I had the opportunity to meet up with a few fellow graduates from 2011 and also make a few new contacts as well as mooching round the college getting inspiration from the current students.

Today's card though was inspired by the current Runway Inspired challenge HERE & below...

The challenge was perfect for me to break out my NEW Cosmic Shimmer Polished Silk Silver Glitter which I treat myself to on Saturday! Here's how I've used it...

I was inspired by Sue a valued customer of Uniko Studio to dust off my older & much loved Uniko Studio stamp sets to make this card. Sue's BLOG has tons of inspiration & beautiful projects so be sure to pop by. I'll be sharing some of Sue's more recent projects here on the blog tomorrow.

Here's a close up of that shimmery glitter...

In other exciting news, I've got some lovely students soon to be graduates lined up for work placements once they've handed in their final projects. The first is Abbey who has a lovely Facebook page HERE. Abbey will be coming for a work placement in May which is FAB, I might just get a few more things achieved with an extra pair of hands in the studio!

Then in June I have another Abbie lined up for a work placement, which is just fabulous! Abbie has an interesting Tumblr site HERE which is full of inspiration. With all this help Uniko Studio might just achieve a few more 2013 goals!!

Ok, that's all from me today, I rambled on excitedly a bit too much! Thanks for stopping by though it's much appreciated.

Tuesday, 26 March 2013

I'm back today with a couple more cards to share that I made on Saturday at The Paperlane during the demo...

Yep, it's negative die cutting AGAIN with the soon to be released Designer Dies BRIGHT Butterflies! This time I used some muted DP behind the butterflies and was trying out some NEW Cosmic Shimmer EP on the celebrate sentiment...

This EP is pretty awesome & is super for picking up fine details. So I then went on to make this card...

I already had the 2 butterflies die cut from the card above & so stamped the coordinating butterfly with VersaMark ink and embossed them with the Cosmic Shimmer EP. I then stamped the black card base with one of the larger doilies from Decorative Doilies - The Hands Of Time in Fresh Snow ink. I used the same sentiment from FONTiments - Birthday as in the first card above but stamped it onto some Hibiscus Burst CS for that 'POP' of colour. The butterflies are adhered to the card using foam adhesive to add dimension...

I love how the embossing powder really shows off the flower detail on the butterflies wing! I treated myself to some NEW Cosmic Shimmer Silver Glitter whilst in the shop & I can't wait to try it out on a project or two.

I'm still resting up today but hope to get back in the studio this afternoon! Thanks for stopping by & for the comments you leave me. They are truly appreciated & make my day :)

Monday, 25 March 2013

Well, you might know that here in the UK we seem to be having an extended Winter with freezing temperatures and snow. So to get my Spring Fix, I've had to be creative and made this little card...

I made this while at The Paperlane on Saturday during the class. I found these lovely patterned paper scraps perfect for a Spring birthday card. Below is a close up of the yummy patterned paper, we decided that it could possibly be K&Co patterned paper as there was no packaging it's hard to be sure.

I'm hooked on emphasising the negative die cuts at the moment, it *could* be the fact that these NEW Uniko Studio Designer Dies are making their appearance for the April Release! Another reason is the Moxie FAB World challenge HERE.

A semi restful day & working from bed on the laptop completing 'essential' day to day work has paid off, not 100% yet but fingers crossed I'll be back in the studio tomorrow :)

That's all from me today, I'll be back tomorrow with a couple more projects to share. Thanks for stopping by.

Sunday, 24 March 2013

Now where did that weekend go? I've slept most of today away, catching up on the sleep I've lost this week & hoping that it will cure my poorly throat. I have one more card to share that I made for the class yesterday...

I mixed a few different Uniko Studio clear stamp sets to create this card, all of which are listed below in the supplies.

Keeping it short & sweet tonight, I'll be back tomorrow with more to share, thanks for stopping by.

Saturday, 23 March 2013

I'm back today to share a project that isn't a card! *gasp* This project is still CAS and didn't take long to make and was rather fun...

I've never been a big fan of altered art because of the 'distressed' style you tend see projects using, but I fancied setting myself a challenge to decorate a kraft bag in a CAS way & I think I achieved this quite well.

To create the bag I used a variety of Uniko Studio stamps. I started off with the polka dot Washi stamp from Wonderful Washi, stamping it in white pigment ink. I then used the blank Washi stamp from Wonderful Washi Christmas onto a piece of patterned paper from the Joyful Butterfly Digital Downloadable Collection & fussy cut it out. I then added a strip of twill ribbon to finish the stripes across the bag off.

The label embellishment was created using a circular label stamp from Label Love: Thank you and a sentiment from Label Love: Birthday. This was then punched out & layered on various die cuts & mounted with foam adhesive onto the bag.

For the butterfly embellishments I firstly die cut each of the butterflies in the same patterned paper I used for the Washi ribbon. I then die cut the butterflies from white card stock and stamped them with the coordinating stamp & secured them together just down the middle of the butterfly. A few rhinestones dotted about & I was done.

A lovely Spring gift bag to pop a few mini Easter eggs inside! This was another project that we created at the class today at The Paperlane. The next class in April is booking up fast so if you want to join in on the fun & try the April Release clear stamps before you buy contact Caz to secure your place (admin@thepaperlane.co.uk).

Friday, 22 March 2013

I can just about say it's still Friday! I'm popping by late today as it's been a busy afternoon here in the studio and I'm feeling a bit under the weather too :( I still managed to whip up a super CAS card to share with you all though...

Then, I saw the current CAS(E) this Sketch! layout seen HERE and below and the card just created itself - well almost!

I just couldn't resist using the soon to be released BRIGHT Butterflies Designer Dies! This time die cutting them in Raspberry Fizz & Black card stock then smothering them in glitter! A sentiment from Label Love: Birthday & a few rhinestones & I was done!

That's all from me tonight, I'd better be getting some sleep as it's the demo & class at The Paperlane tomorrow! I'll be back tomorrow though with a project to share. Until then, thanks for stopping by.

Thursday, 21 March 2013

Not only does my card have LOTS of happy but this week has been quite a happy one here in the studio! It's officially Spring here in the UK and the sun came out for a short while yesterday lets just hope more is on its way!

So I have a HAPPY card to share with you today...

It has a wonderful mix of doilies, ribbon and a lovely felt butterfly and lots of happy as you can see! Here's a little close up of the detail...

I'm out of the studio later today as I am doing a little talk to some students at the college I graduated from. I'm going to hopefully inspire them with all that I've been up to since graduating!

Wednesday, 20 March 2013

This week is flying by for me, I've been designing new products, prepping for the April Release, prepping for the demo & class on Saturday, I've been to visit NEST a gallery in Barnard Castle, who now stock some Uniko Studio product & tomorrow I'm going back to CCAD the college I graduated from to do a little talk on what I've been up to since graduating! It's all good fun but I need TIME to slow down a little so I can do more!! Haha!!

Anyway, I'm back today with possibly an even more obvious peek at the NEW product in use which is being released in April HERE at Uniko Studio. As I said yesterday I couldn't wait to use them and can't stop! Haha!

You've got to LOVE a bit of negative die cutting & with this little butterfly it was a perfect way to use up some scraps of patterned paper from the Uniko Studio Joyful Butterfly Digital Patterned Paper Collection available HERE.

I used a sentiment from FONTiments - Birthday, stamping it in a lovely orange, a few pearls addd and I was done!

Moxie FAB World have a few challenges on at the moment, one of them being all about negative die cutting which you can check out HERE. Also because I've used butterflies again, this card is perfect for the Addicted to CAS challenge HERE which is to use wings!

That's all I have to share with you today, I'll be back again tomorrow with another card or two! Thanks for stopping by & for commenting, it's truly appreciated.

Tuesday, 19 March 2013

I'm back a little later than normal today with a card to share which uses a NEW soon to be released product in April...

I've been waiting for these little beauties to arrive in the studio and couldn't wait to try them out! This close up photo below might give you a closer peek...

This is just one of the cards we will be making in the class on Saturday in The Paperlane, be sure to book your place to avoid disappointment, I've some other Spring themed projects planned for the class!

This card is perfect for the current challenge over on Addicted to CASHERE whose current theme is WINGS.

I'll be back tomorrow with another card & peek which is sure to give the NEW product away!

Monday, 18 March 2013

Happy Monday, I hope your week has got off to a good start. Things have here in the studio with NEW soon to be released product entering the studio!

You'll get a little peek at one of the April Release products in use if you stop by the blog tomorrow & if your in the North East why not pop by The Paperlane on Saturday, you'll be able to see the NEW product it action & even purchase it 3 weeks early!

Anyway, onto todays card, a new trend in fashion is to mix patterns & this is exactly what I've done on this masculine birthday card...

There is definitely A LOT going on on this card and it kinda has a retro feel to it. It's FUN to play about with scraps of patterned paper & a variety of stamps! I used some KaiserCraft scraps from their Shaken Not Stirred Collection which created the colour theme for the card.

I started out by paper piecing the label frame on a separate piece of white card stock & cut it out. Before I adhered the paper pieced label to the base card, I stamped the label on the base card and stamped the circles, spots & stars so I knew how they'd look & be once the label was in place.

That's all I have to share with you today, it's a busy time here in the studio with lots of exciting things in the pipeline!

So, I thought I'd be back on schedule & back in the studio getting creative but I never knew how exhausting Wedding Dress shopping would be!

Thursday I took the day out with my future MIL to try on dresses & hopefully find one that was perfect! I'm HAPPY to report that the day was a success & I have found the PERFECT dress! Unfortunately I can't share any photos on here yet as I know my Fiancé pops by the blog occasionally to see what I'm up to!

Anyway, I'm guessing you didn't stop by to read me waffle on about wedding dresses but more to see paper crafty creations! So, I don't have anything of my own to share but instead I have some Uniko Studio customer cards to share.

I just LOVE seeing creations using Uniko Studio stamps and the two cards I've spotted via Pinterest are no exception...

Thursday, 14 March 2013

Today I thought I'd share something a little bit different on the blog rather than a card to share with you all. Mainly because I spent the day designing yesterday & didn't get inky with my stamps to make a card & secondly because this is absolutely FABulous!

Last night I was invited to attend the VIP Preview of a Contemporary Textile Exhibition in the Folio Gallery at Cleveland College of Art & Design.

Claire A Baker was one of my tutors whilst I was studying at CCAD, I graduated from CCAD in 2011 with a First Class Honours Degree in BA Textiles & Surface Design. Claire herself studied at the college and is not only a fabulous tutor but an AMAZING designer too! So, I had to pop along to the preview evening of this exhibition not only to catch up with tutors, graduates, new & old friends but also to network & more importantly to see Claire's work in real life.

I've attached a few images of Claire's work below from Pinterest via Claire's blog HERE. Claire also has a FAB website HERE, both are well worth checking out!

A bit about Claire...

"Claire A Baker is a Textile & Surface Designer specialising in embroidery and also a Designer Maker who creates accessories for fashion, the home, stationary & much more!

Claire collects 'paraphernalia' and gains inspiration from these acquired vintage objects & ephemera to design & make beautiful unique artworks using print and embroidery techniques. The exhibition I visited last night illustrated the relationship between Claire's inspiration and her creative vision."

One last pic of a inspirational installation which is on display at the exhibition. Claire uses this as a starting point for her designing & it grows organically as the collection & designing process progresses...

Photo Courtesy Of Eyv Hardwick via Facebook

These are just a few snippets of Claire's work, more can be seen on her blog & website.